October 31, 2009
My Holiday Challenge has officially begun with yesterday’s shopping trip at Shaws. I spent a whopping $1.83 in cash for all that you see in the above photo.
Here’s the breakdown:
Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks: $1.88/ea; used $1/1 Blinkie x2 or found here = $.88/ea or $1.76
Jolly Time Popcorn: B1G1 at $2.69/ea; used $1/1 found here x2 = $.34/ea or $.69
5 Boxes BC Fruit Snacks: 4/$1.25; used $.40/1 doubled x2 and $.50/2 doubled from here and here= $3.65 (produced $3.50 cat for buying 5)
2 Rotel: $.88/ea; used $.50/1 doubled x2 from here = $.24 moneymaker
2 cans Hunts: $.88/ea; used $.50/2 doubled from here or here= $.76
2 cans Pumpkin: $1.98
2 pkgs Keebler sandwich crackers: $1.88/ea; used $.75/1 doubled and $.55/1 found here= $.58/ea or $1.16
1.5 lb apples: $1.93
1 Gallon Milk: $2.99
1 Graham Cracker Crust: $1.00
1 Pepperidge Farm Sandwich Flats: $2.99; used $.75/cat doubled = $1.49
Total OOP After Cats and Coupons: $1.83
I did spend $17.50 in cats that I had previously earned, but I did get back $3.50 in cats. Add that to the $10 cat I still have left, and it leaves me with $13.50 in cats. Unfortunately, there’s not much going on this week at Shaws where I can roll the cats, so I’m going to have to get creative to keep this week’s budget down.
A lot of the items we didn’t really need, especially the fruit snacks because we have enough to last us over a year; however, the fruit snacks were actually a moneymaker with coupons and the $3.50 cat they produced. Also, our cereal stash is getting pretty low. I found this out the other night when we were left without power at dinner time. There was very little that DH and DD liked, and whatever we did have, they finished. So, I’m working on building my cereal stockpile back up.
How did you do on your first trip of the challenge?
October 29, 2009
As of tomorrow, Friday, October 30, there are 8 weeks until Christmas. Where did the past year go? For me, grocery shopping can get a little out of control around this time of year with Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the gatherings in between. Plus, if you ask DH, he’ll no doubt say that I go a little overboard (but if you ask me, I’ll tell you differently).
I’m throwing out a little challenge for myself: From now until Christmas, I will only spend $300 on all groceries. This breaks down to just $37.50/week.
For most of this past year when I was really working on my stockpile and couponing, I was spending just $40/week on groceries for our family. As I stopped couponing, I found myself running to the market just to buy a few things, and over the course of a week I was spending almost $100…and we had LESS food in the house. So, that stops now. That extra money each week will really help with all of the Christmas gifts we’re going to be buying. $60×8 = $480!!!
I’m not really sure what the plans are for our Thanksgiving dinner. Usually, we go to my SIL’s house, but we are responsible for a few things such as rolls, corn, stuffing, and a dessert or two. If that’s the case, my budget should be fine since I can make those items inexpensively. If we have Thanksgiving dinner, it may be a challenge, but I’m up for it! Christmas is usually the same, but we have it at my MIL’s house.
Here’s the plan:
- I will be posting about each trip that we make to the grocery store or any other edible grocery purchases at places such as Target and Walmart.
- I will post the amount spent and how I paid for each transaction (such as coupons, catalina’s, etc.)
- I will be starting with $27.50 in Cats from previous purchases
- I can purchase whatever I need to make the money stretch the farthest. If this means spending $10 cash to acquire products plus Cats in return, then that is what I’ll do. As long as the amount of cash spent over the next 8 weeks does not exceed $300, this will be a successful challenge.
- I will keep track of remaining cash on my sidebar.
- I can use any items from my stockpile; however, please note that my stockpile really isn’t huge at the moment.
Anyone else want to join me in this challenge? You can make your budget more or less to suit your needs. Let’s see if we can do this and save some $$$ over the holidays!
5th Card Gone!!!
